The present invention is directed to a cover for a laboratory beaker.
Beakers for laboratory use are configured as wide cylindrical glass vessels usually with a pouring lip formed at the periphery of the beaker that defines the opening to the interior volume thereof. Beakers are used as laboratory containers and mixing jars for a variety of solutions, compounds, and chemicals. While they are used to mix various solutions, they are usually not used if there is to be a reaction for the reason that unless covered the reaction can cause some of the solution to splash out of the beaker. One alternative to resolving this splashing problem is to use whatever may be at hand in a laboratory as a cover, such as a petri dish, a shallow, circular (usually glass) dish that fits loosely over the opening of the beaker. Unfortunately, the shape of the petri dish (i.e., its shallowness) lends itself to sitting loosely on the beaker, making the dish susceptible to being brushed or knocked off the beaker and broken. Further still, in order to gain access to the beaker's content or volume for adding material, or to insert e.g., a thermometer, the dish must be removed.
Additionally, while beakers are used to heat solutions, they are frequently not so used if the chemical composition of the solution must be maintained at some constant level for the reason that it is difficult to inhibit loss of the solution by evaporation. Attempting to cover a beaker with a petri dish to contain the evaporation offers a poor alternative because the shallow shape of the petri dish prevents is from closing the beaker's pour spout, thereby leaving egress for evaporation vapors.
Flasks are more often used for containing chemical reactions by fitting them with a condenser of one type or another that allows a reflux activity to occur to protect the heated solution against evaporation. Thereby, the solution's chemical concentration is maintained by retaining and condensing evaporation for return to the solution. However, such condensers are often an elaborate, relatively expensive devices so that any laboratory environment will have only a few, if any. Further, they are constructed for use principally with flasks.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need for a beaker cover that can operate to substantially enclose the volume of a beaker to inhibit the escape of vapors from the contents of the beaker.